Ice Cream with My Mom đĽ°
đ Tampa, Florida, Monday, October 13
This isnât a âlook at me, I can take Mondays offâ post.
Itâs simply a reminder that our time with the people we love is finite, especially our parents.
If our businesses arenât designed to make space for moments like this, then whatâs the point of it all?
Iâm deeply grateful for a team that allows not only me, but everyone on the team, to enjoy these moments.
Every person at Staff4Half has the same freedom and flexibility to design their work around what matters most in life, and that could very well be an ice cream on a Monday afternoon with mom and the nieces.
Three things that help us:
1ď¸âŁ Design for redundancy. Cross-training and clear SOPs ensure that no single person becomes a bottleneck, myself included.
2ď¸âŁ Protect moments that matter. We encourage teammates to block time for important family moments, no questions asked.
3ď¸âŁ Lead with trust and clarity. When I take time off for moments like these, it sends a message that everyone can too.
Business is a vehicle, but the destination is a life youâre proud to live with the people you love. â¤ď¸
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When Losing a Client Feels Like a Win
I lost a client, and Iâm actually happy about it.
Let me explain.
A while back, we placed a fantastic team member with what is now our former client. She did such a great job from day one, showing perfect culture and role fit, that they decided to hire her directly.
Yes, it happens in outsourcing. But hereâs what really bothered me: poaching talent doesnât just break terms. It breaks trust and destroys culture.
I believe the most valuable thing a business owner has is their reputation with clients, suppliers, and teams. Breaking terms sends a signal to that employee and to the rest of the team that shortcuts and small acts of dishonesty are acceptable. In the long run, that erodes trust and damages both the business ownerâs and the companyâs reputation.
Great cultures are built on respect and integrity.
And if a client shows us they donât believe in that, then weâre simply not a good fit.Because without values, there is no partnership.
What do you think? Does a little cheating corrode team and company culture?
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The Hiring Conversation: Building Teams with Heart
Some ideas arrive fully formed.
But others take years to find their place. For me, building companies has always been more than just building products or services. Itâs about the people:ÂThe ones we hire,Â
The ones we grow with, and sometimesÂ
The ones we have to let go.Â
Over the years, Iâve come to embrace that people component more and more. Leadership without people at heart is nothing. Thatâs why Iâm bringing back The Rosemary Czopek Podcast with a new season called âThe Hiring Conversationâ. I want this to be a place for candid, open talks with (women) founders about what it really takes to build great teams from people:How do they hire?Â
How do they lead?ÂAnd how do they build teams that last?Â
Weâll talk about what worked, and most importantly, what didnât. Because itâs the failures that teach us the most. Learning from those whoâve been there and are willing to share their experiences has always been the most effective for me. And thatâs what I want this new season to be:
A place for mutual learning.
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You Canât Build Loyalty With a Tight Fist
Raising Salaries Wonât Fix Your Turnover Problem
Iâve seen companies with sky-high churn, and others paying exactly the same where employees stick around for years.
Both assume thatâs just how it is. The struggling ones blame it on the salary, saying they canât pay enough.
Hereâs what I believe: turnover is rarely about the paycheck. Itâs almost always about purpose.
When we get a new inquiry and see people leaving in waves, thatâs not a pay problem. Thatâs a culture problem hiding in plain sight.
Often these companies pay well, yet people still leave. Meanwhile, the businesses with the lowest churn have something different in common: their people know why theyâre there, because they feel part of something that matters.
I donât believe people leave companies. They leave bosses and organizations that fail to give their work meaning.
If you want people to stay, you donât need free kombucha or another salary bump. You need to lead with purpose. And sometimes, the smallest gestures mean the most:
⢠A thank you when it counts
⢠A birthday remembered
⢠A dinner where work doesnât come upBefore you raise another salary, ask yourself: does each and every team member know why theyâre here?
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